Ex-Hong Kong chief secretary Henry Tang and Exco member Jeffrey Lam join business sector in criticising extradition deal with mainland China
- Secretary for Security John Lee continues to resist demands from business community to leave 15 offences off list of 46 covered by proposal
- Agreement aims to provide a mechanism for transferring suspects, on a case-by-case basis, to jurisdictions Hong Kong lacks an extradition treaty with
Hong Kong’s security chief has opposed watering down a proposed extradition agreement with mainland China despite escalating pressure from the city’s business heavyweights and even a government adviser.
The latest businesspeople to join the chorus of criticism were former No 2 government official Henry Tang Ying-yen, the incoming chairman of the Trade Development Council Peter Lam Kin-ngok and Executive Council member Jeffrey Lam Kin-fung.
The American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham) warned last week that the proposal extradition agreement could damage the city’s reputation as a “secure haven for international business”.
But Secretary for Security John Lee Ka-chiu on Thursday again dismissed the suggestion that 15 white-collar crimes be exempted from the 46 offences covered by the extradition proposal, as had earlier been demanded by the city’s major pro-business parties, the Liberal Party and the Business and Professionals Alliance (BPA).
Tang, now a standing committee member of the mainland’s top advisory body, the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), said the businessmen’s worries were understandable.
“It is a genuine concern that the central government should not simply ignore them. They should be addressed,” he said. “I have every confidence that, while the community is supportive of plugging the loopholes of Hong Kong being a shelter for fugitives … only crimes serious and heinous enough should be extraditable.”